I saw a magazine cover recently at the grocery checkout (I
try not to look, but you know how that goes). After my eyes returned from rolling through
my head -- and
after counting the number of exclamation points! -- I began stewing.

You
cannot lose weight without regular exercise and changing your diet. Period. The numerous
fad diets may work temporarily, but are nearly impossible to sustain, nevermind unhealthy. That's
why I and so many others who have been successful call it a "lifestyle change". It's not temporary.
It's for life.

When I was pregnant with my fourth child, I regularly chowed down on Wendy's. When I
sat down to watch TV, my favorite snack was Betty Crocker vanilla frosting. Straight out of
the can. With a spoon. I also stopped exercising. And guess what? I put on more than 50
pounds. So, I took a magic pill and all that fat went away! Not.

My blood pressure and cholesterol numbers put me at high risk for any number of bad things, so I
started the change slowly. I began walking short distances slowly, then quicker and longer. Then I
joined a gym and started working with a personal trainer. I used
sparkpeople.com
religiously, finding out how many calories, carbohydrates, protein and fat I should be taking in
and doing my best to stay within the suggested ranges. It was difficult.

A little more than a year later, I was down about 15 pounds and my numbers were looking good.
Then I hit the first of many plateaus. I got stuck and couldn't lose anymore weight, which was
extremely frustrating.

I used the opportunity to re-evaluate my diet. In December 2010, I became a vegetarian. It was
something I'd considered before for ethical reasons, so I knew I could do it. I researched the
benefits and cautions of both vegetarianism and veganism, then dove in headfirst. I lost four
pounds in the first week. I ate cottage cheese and greek yogurt every day, and I found some really
good meat substitutes.

At the next plateau, I realized I was still taking in way too many carbs. I also discovered that
plateaus were totally normal. While carbs are necessary and provide your body with energy, eating
too many can turn the excess into stored fat. I learned that
strength training was
more important to fat loss than cardio, so I cut down a bit on the cardio, replacing it with
more strength work. Another four pounds came off quickly.

In late 2011, at yet another plateau, I learned all I could about increasing my protein and
decreasing my carbs. I began drinking protein shakes every day after my workouts. I limited my
carbs to fruits and vegetables and one serving per day of whole grains. No more pasta and bread. I
also learned about the fat-loss benefits of
High Intensity Interval
Training and
Metabolic
Physique Conditioning, so I added them into my routine. Another few pounds hit the road.

Recently, while studying for my certification, I delved even further into macronutrient ratios:
the percentage of carbs to protein to fat in my daily caloric intake. I read an
article about body types,
figured out that I was an "endomorph", which essentially meant that I had a low tolerance for carbs
and my ratios should be about 25 percent carbs:35 protein:40 fat (they were closer to 45:30:25). So
I needed more fat (what?) and protein, and less carbs. Of course, we're talking healthy fat from
nuts, olive oil, and eggs, to name a few.

I continue to experiment with my diet and find new, challenging workout routines to push myself.
It's a constant process.

Guess what? More than three years later, I'm two pounds away from my pre-pregnancy
weight.